Automated home memory cloud with key authenticator

ABSTRACT

According to one exemplary embodiment, a method for an automatic memory cloud is provided. The method may include detecting a trigger event. The method may include activating the automatic memory cloud based on detecting the trigger event. The method may include determining if new data is found on a primary device connected to the activated automatic memory cloud, wherein the new data has a data type and a data size. The method may include selecting a destination device from a plurality of secondary devices connected to the activated automatic memory cloud based on determining that the new data is found on the primary device, whereby the selected destination device has an available storage exceeding the data size and a usage type matches the data type associated with the new data. The method may include sending an instruction to transfer the new data from the primary device to the destination device.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to the field of computing, andmore particularly, to memory clouds.

Many of the devices used by people on a daily basis have limited storagecapacity. As people use their personal electronic devices to create andgather data, such as taking pictures with a smartphone, the limitationsof local storage space become apparent. Transferring data to publiccloud services may make data vulnerable to malefactors.

SUMMARY

According to one exemplary embodiment, a method for an automatic memorycloud is provided. The method may include detecting a trigger event. Themethod may also include activating the automatic memory cloud based ondetecting the trigger event. The method may then include determining ifnew data is found on a primary device connected to the activatedautomatic memory cloud, whereby the new data has a data type and a datasize. The method may further include selecting a destination device fromwithin a plurality of secondary devices connected to the activatedautomatic memory cloud based on determining that the new data is foundon the primary device, whereby the selected destination device has i) anavailable storage exceeding the data size and ii) a usage typeassociated with the selected destination device matches the data typeassociated with the new data. The method may also include sending aninstruction to transfer the new data from the primary device to theselected destination device.

According to another exemplary embodiment, a computer system for anautomatic memory cloud is provided. The computer system may include oneor more processors, one or more computer-readable memories, one or morecomputer-readable tangible storage devices, and program instructionsstored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for executionby at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of theone or more memories, whereby the computer system is capable ofperforming a method. The method may also include activating theautomatic memory cloud based on detecting the trigger event. The methodmay then include determining if new data is found on a primary deviceconnected to the activated automatic memory cloud, whereby the new datahas a data type and a data size. The method may further includeselecting a destination device from within a plurality of secondarydevices connected to the activated automatic memory cloud based ondetermining that the new data is found on the primary device, wherebythe selected destination device has i) an available storage exceedingthe data size and ii) a usage type associated with the selecteddestination device matches the data type associated with the new data.The method may also include sending an instruction to transfer the newdata from the primary device to the selected destination device.

According to yet another exemplary embodiment, a computer programproduct for an automatic memory cloud is provided. The computer programproduct may include one or more computer-readable storage devices andprogram instructions stored on at least one of the one or more tangiblestorage devices, the program instructions executable by a processor. Thecomputer program product may include program instructions to detect atrigger event. The computer program product may also include programinstructions to activate the automatic memory cloud based on detectingthe trigger event. The computer program product may then include programinstructions to determine if new data is found on a primary deviceconnected to the activated automatic memory cloud, whereby the new datahas a data type and a data size. The computer program product mayfurther include program instructions to select a destination device fromwithin a plurality of secondary devices connected to the activatedautomatic memory cloud based on determining that the new data is foundon the primary device, whereby the selected destination device has i) anavailable storage exceeding the data size and ii) a usage typeassociated with the selected destination device matches the data typeassociated with the new data. The computer program product may alsoinclude program instructions to send an instruction to transfer the newdata from the primary device to the selected destination device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptionof illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connectionwith the accompanying drawings. The various features of the drawings arenot to scale as the illustrations are for clarity in facilitating oneskilled in the art in understanding the invention in conjunction withthe detailed description. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a networked computer environment according to atleast one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an operational flowchart illustrating a process forautomatically relocating data within a memory cloud according to atleast one embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of internal and external components ofcomputers and servers depicted in FIG. 1 according to at least oneembodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an illustrative cloud computing environmentincluding the computer system depicted in FIG. 1, in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of functional layers of the illustrative cloudcomputing environment of FIG. 4, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Detailed embodiments of the claimed structures and methods are disclosedherein; however, it can be understood that the disclosed embodiments aremerely illustrative of the claimed structures and methods that may beembodied in various forms. This invention may, however, be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theexemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplaryembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete and will fully convey the scope of this invention to thoseskilled in the art. In the description, details of well-known featuresand techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring thepresented embodiments.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product at any possible technical detail level of integration.The computer program product may include a computer readable storagemedium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereonfor causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, oreither source code or object code written in any combination of one ormore programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The computer readable program instructions may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including,for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gatearrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute thecomputer readable program instructions by utilizing state information ofthe computer readable program instructions to personalize the electroniccircuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The following described exemplary embodiments provide a system, methodand program product for an automated private memory cloud with a keyauthenticator. As such, the present embodiment has the capacity toimprove the technical field of memory clouds by utilizing unused memoryin electronic devices located within a specific area. More specifically,the memory of multiple electronic devices may be pooled and connectedvia a private cloud that may determine how to automatically distributedata to better utilize free memory and store data on devices moresuitable for the specific data. Furthermore, the private cloud may beactivated and data distribution to devices within the cloud may beinitiated automatically based on trigger event.

As described previously, many of the devices used by people on a dailybasis have limited storage capacity. As people use their personalelectronic devices to create and gather data, such as taking pictureswith a smartphone, the limitations of local storage space becomeapparent. Transferring data to public cloud services may make datavulnerable to malefactors.

A person may have additional secondary electronic devices that mayconnect to a network and have storage space, such as a digital pictureframe or a smart television. The person's secondary devices may haveunused storage space that may not be utilized while the storage capacityon the person's primary device(s), such as a smartphone, may beovertaxed.

Therefore, it may be advantageous to, among other things, provide a wayto utilize available storage capacity between multiple devices byautomatically distributing data to devices within a location-specificprivate memory cloud.

According to at least one embodiment, an automated location-specificprivate memory cloud (e.g., located at a user's home, a business, anoffice, etc.) may be implemented by allowing devices (e.g., asmartphone, wearable technology, etc.) to exchange data within a networkassociated with the memory cloud based on key authentication. Keyauthentication may occur when a primary device, such as a smartphone,uses a key to identify which other secondary devices the primary devicehas access to send and receive within the private memory cloud. Once theprimary device joins the private memory cloud network, the primarydevice may broadcast the primary device's availability to the privatememory cloud when joining the private memory cloud. The secondarydevices (i.e., the rest of the devices not including the primary device)connected to the private memory cloud may respond to the broadcast withmetadata, such as what information may be available to be transferredto/from the secondary device and the available storage capacity thesecondary device may have. If a predefined trigger event is detected(e.g., the primary device enters a predefined geographic area), thecloud may automatically activate and a process may identify androute/download data to secondary devices within the private memory cloudthat matches the use of the identified data.

The devices used within the cloud (i.e., primary and secondary devices)may be connected to an indoor network (e.g., within a user's home) andmay share storage information with each other device. Data may be storedlocally within the user's devices and, using the present embodiment,data may be routed through a specific device depending on the device'susability. The device's usability may be determined by tags, rules,analytics of the data, smart analytics, cognitive engine, etc.

Additionally, the memory cloud may also automatically activate bydetermining that the primary device's available memory storage fallsbelow a threshold value. The primary device may then download data to aselected target device's memory to free space for the action, or theprimary device may use the memory of the target device to create theaction, whereby the data being routed/downloaded may stay within thedevices at the cloud's location (e.g., user's home).

Thus, the automatic memory cloud may transfer data to other deviceswithin the memory cloud transparently without user interaction. Bylimiting the transfer of data to devices within a geographic location(e.g., the user's home) making up the memory cloud, the data may nottravel outside to public networks where the data may be targeted bymalefactors.

Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary networked computer environment 100 inaccordance with one embodiment is depicted. The networked computerenvironment 100 may include a computer 102 with a processor 104 and adata storage device 106 that is enabled to run a software program 108and an automatic memory cloud program 110 a. The networked computerenvironment 100 may also include a server 112 that is enabled to run anautomatic memory cloud program 110 b that may interact with a database114 and a communication network 116. The networked computer environment100 may include a plurality of computers 102 and servers 112, only oneof which is shown. The communication network may include various typesof communication networks, such as a wide area network (WAN), local areanetwork (LAN), a telecommunication network, a wireless network, a publicswitched network and/or a satellite network. It should be appreciatedthat FIG. 1 provides only an illustration of one implementation and doesnot imply any limitations with regard to the environments in whichdifferent embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to thedepicted environments may be made based on design and implementationrequirements.

The client computer 102 may communicate with the server computer 112 viathe communications network 116. The communications network 116 mayinclude connections, such as wire, wireless communication links, orfiber optic cables. As will be discussed with reference to FIG. 3,server computer 112 may include internal components 902 a and externalcomponents 904 a, respectively, and client computer 102 may includeinternal components 902 b and external components 904 b, respectively.Server computer 112 may also operate in a cloud computing service model,such as Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), orInfrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Server 112 may also be located in acloud computing deployment model, such as a private cloud, communitycloud, public cloud, or hybrid cloud. Client computer 102 may be, forexample, a mobile device, a telephone, a personal digital assistant, anetbook, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a desktop computer, orany type of computing devices capable of running a program, accessing anetwork, and accessing a database 114. According to variousimplementations of the present embodiment, the automatic memory cloudprogram 110 a, 110 b may interact with a database 114 that may beembedded in various storage devices, such as, but not limited to acomputer/mobile device 102, a networked server 112, or a cloud storageservice.

According to the present embodiment, a user using a client computer 102or a server computer 112 may use the automatic memory cloud program 110a, 110 b (respectively) to automatically move data within a local cloudbetween connected devices to more efficiently utilize collective storagecapacity and move data to devices better suited for the specific type ofdata. The automatic memory cloud method is explained in more detailbelow with respect to FIG. 2.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an operational flowchart illustrating theexemplary process 200 for automatically relocating data within apersonalized cloud used by the automatic memory cloud program 110 a and110 b (FIG. 1) according to at least one embodiment is depicted.

At 202, it is determined if a trigger event has been detected. Accordingto at least one embodiment, a primary device may be designated and usedto activate the memory cloud after the primary device joins the networkassociated with the memory cloud. The user may designate an electronicdevice used by the user, such as the user's personal smartphone, as theprimary device. The primary device may be used to trigger the memorycloud to activate via a predefined trigger event. The trigger event maystart the memory cloud and the trigger event may be defined by the userto react to the primary device as will be described below.

When the primary device joins the network associated with the memorycloud (e.g., personal network at the user's home), the primary devicemay broadcast the primary device's availability on the network with aset of keys assigned to the primary device. The other devices already onthe network (i.e., secondary devices) may then activate and respond tothe broadcast by indicating the secondary devices are available to sendor receive new data. Each device registered to the memory cloud may havea set of keys indicating what devices may interact with each other. Forexample, device D₁ may join a network associated with a memory cloudhaving keys K_(A) and K_(B). Also on the network are devices D₂, D₃, andD₄. If D₂ has a matching key for K_(A) and D₃ has a matching key forK_(B), D₁ may send data to, or receive data from, either device D₂ or D₃since D₁ has matching keys. However, D₄ having key K_(C) may not sharedata with D₁ since D₁ does not have a matching key for K_(C). Thus, thesecondary devices that have keys matching the primary device mayconstitute the devices within a memory cloud, as those secondary devicesand the primary device have matching keys and may share data.

According to at least one embodiment, the user may define aproximity-based trigger event, whereby the memory cloud may becomeactive once the primary device (e.g., smartphone) enters within adesignated geographic region. For example, the user may define theproximity-based trigger event to activate the memory cloud when theprimary device enters the user's home. The proximity of the primarydevice may be determined, for instance, by generating an indicator inresponse to the primary device connecting to the user's home router overwifi or by defining an area of global positioning system (GPS)coordinates and generating an indicator when the primary device's GPScoordinates are within the defined area.

According to at least one other embodiment, the trigger event may bedefined by the user to trigger when the primary device's internalstorage capacity reaches a predefined threshold value. For example, theuser may define the trigger event to activate the memory cloud when theuser's smartphone has less than 15% of internal storage available.

It may be appreciated that other trigger events may be defined and acombination of trigger events may be used to activate the memory cloud.

Additionally, the user may define trigger events and designate theprimary device through a program that may have an interface (e.g., agraphical user interface) that the user may interact with prior torunning the automatic memory cloud program 110 a and 110 b (FIG. 1) orthat may be a part of the automatic memory cloud program 110 a and 110 b(FIG. 1). For example, a memory cloud setup program may provide a userinterface that allows the user to choose from multiple redefined triggerevent templates that may take some additional user information tocomplete, such as a user-selected percentage of remaining storage spaceon the primary device that will be the threshold value to initiate atrigger event (e.g., 15%). The program may also present the user withchoices to select which device to use as the primary device, such as toselect the current device the user is running the program from, orselect the device from a list of available devices, etc.

If it was determined at 202 that a trigger event has not been detected,then the process 200 may return to the start to continue checking for atrigger event.

However, if it is determined that the trigger event has been detected at202, then the memory cloud is activated at 204. According to at leastone embodiment, if the trigger event occurred (e.g., the primary deviceentered within a designated geographic area), the memory cloud may beactivated. The memory cloud may be administered by a computer (e.g., 102(FIG. 1)) local to the memory cloud (e.g., the user's personal computerlocated in the user's home), or by an off-site server (e.g., 112(FIG. 1) that may be run by a third-party) that handles datadistribution within the memory cloud while maintaining data privacy,etc.

According to at least one embodiment, the primary device may transmit anindicator to the electronic device administering the memory cloud (e.g.,a personal computer) to activate the memory cloud (e.g., upondetermining that the primary device's available storage capacity hasfallen below the threshold value). According to at least one otherembodiment, the automatic memory cloud program 110 a and 110 b (FIG. 1)may run on the electronic device administering the memory cloud and maydetect the trigger event at 202 and activate the memory cloud.

Then, at 206, it is determined if any new data is found on the primarydevice. According to at least one embodiment, new data on a device maybe detected using known methods. According to at least oneimplementation, the primary device's data may be queried to determinethe time when the data was created or modified (e.g., by reading atimestamp) and comparing that time to the last time the primary devicewas connected to the memory cloud. It may be appreciated that otherknown methods may be employed to determine new data such as scheduledscans of the data, comparing the data on the device to a snapshot of theprimary device's data taken the last time the primary device wasconnected to the memory cloud, flagging any new data since the last timethe primary device was connected to the memory cloud, etc.

Additionally, new data may also be analyzed to determine what type ofnew data was found (e.g., pictures, movies, recipes, eBook, etc.) and ifthe data may be suitable for transferring to another device in thememory cloud (e.g., configuration files specific to the primary devicemay not be appropriate for transferring while photographs may beappropriate for transferring). New data may be analyzed using knownmethods such as detecting a file extension (e.g., a “.jpg” extension mayindicate a picture), or some other method, or a combination of methods.New data that is determined to be suitable for transferring to anotherdevice within the memory cloud may be assigned an identifier (e.g.,keyword or tag) based on the analysis performed on the data filepreviously to mark what type of data the newly found data includes(e.g., pictures, movies, recipes, eBook, etc.).

If it was determined that new data was found on the primary device at206, then a destination device for the new data is selected at 208.According to at least one embodiment, prior to the process 200 running,during initialization of the memory cloud, the devices making up thememory cloud may be identified and added to the memory cloud. The usermay be presented with an interface that allows the user to add devicesto the memory cloud with network connection capability, such as a smarttelevision, tablet computer, digital picture frame, security camerasystem, etc. Furthermore, the user may also assign tags or otherdescriptors to each added device to indicate the device's intendedusage. For example, the user may add a tablet to the memory cloud thatthe user often uses in the kitchen to look up recipes. Thus, the usermay tag the tablet with tags such as “kitchen” and/or “recipes” toindicate the intended usage of the tablet.

According to at least one other embodiment, the devices making up thememory cloud may be automatically detected (e.g., by identifying alldevices connected to the user's home wifi network). Determining theusage of each device may be obtained by identifying a hardwareidentifier and looking up what type of hardware device corresponds tothe hardware identifier. For example, reading a hardware identifier anddetermining that the device is a digital picture frame which mayindicate that the device is suitable for digital pictures or movies.

According to yet another embodiment, the usage history of the devicesmaking up the memory cloud may be tracked to determine how the user useseach device. For example, the user may frequently look at recipes ontheir tablet. Thus, based on the historical usage of the tablet, thetablet may be tagged for recipes and related data. Furthermore, bycontinuously updating usage history, if the usage of a device changes atsome point, the device may automatically be retagged to a differentusage. For example, the tablet that was previously used for recipes by aparent in a family, may now be used primarily to watch movies after thetablet is passed on to a child within the family.

Based on information related to the devices identified as part of thememory cloud and the identifier(s) assigned to the new data files, adevice is selected as the destination for the new data found on theprimary device. Information related to the devices within the memorycloud may include the identified usage of the device (e.g., for viewingmovies) as well as the amount of free storage space available on thedevice. The information related to the devices within the memory cloudmay then be matched to the identifier assigned to the new data alongwith the size of the data file (e.g., as expressed in megabytes,gigabytes, etc.).

For example, the primary device may have a new 550 megabyte movie filedetected after the memory cloud is activated. The memory cloud mayinclude a tablet tagged for recipes with 10 gigabytes of free storagespace, a smart television tagged for movies and pictures with 1 gigabyteof free storage space, and a digital picture frame tagged for picturesand movies with 350 megabytes of free storage space. Out of theavailable devices within the memory cloud, the smart television may beselected as a destination for the new 550 megabyte movie file since thesmart television is tagged for movies and has adequate storage spaceavailable to accommodate the movie file.

If it is determined that there is not enough available memory storageavailable in any devices within the memory cloud for the new data, smartanalytics may be used to suggest data that may be deleted in order tofree up enough space within the target device to transfer the new data.For example, if the all devices in the personal cloud have less than 300megabytes available and the new data file is a 350 megabyte movie file,smart analytics may be used to determine 350 megabytes of data on adevice that may not have been used recently or otherwise may safely bedeleted to make room for storing the new data file.

However, if it was determined that no new data is found on the primarydevice at 206, then the process 200 will end.

Then, at 210, the new data is transferred to the selected destinationdevice within the memory cloud. According to at least one embodiment,the new data found at 206 may be transferred to the device selected at208 over the network connection (e.g., wifi) connecting the deviceswithin the memory cloud. The entity administering the memory cloud(e.g., user's personal computer) may send instructions to the primarydevice to transfer the data from the primary device to the destinationdevice. Once the new data has been transferred to the selecteddestination device, the data may be removed from the originating device(e.g., primary device) to free up storage space on the originatingdevice. Since the process 200 may occur automatically without any userinteraction, a log entry may be added to a file transfer log indicatingfile transfer information such as the device the new data was sent toand a timestamp indicating when the file transfer occurred. Thus, theuser may view the file transfer log to determine which device may becurrently storing the new data that was transferred.

According to at least one other embodiment, new data may be found on adevice within the memory cloud and automatically be transferred to theprimary device (i.e., the primary device may be the destination device).For example, a security system device or a weather station device may beconnected to the memory cloud and generate new data, such as securitycamera video saved and tagged in response to detecting anomalousactivity, or weather station data (e.g., temperature and humidity). Theprimary device may be tagged to indicate that the user uses the primarydevice for security data and weather data. Thus, when the process 200executes, the security system or weather station may be scanned for newdata, as described previously at 206. Based on the identifiers assignedto the security footage or weather station data when new data is found,and the tagged usage of the primary device, the primary device may beselected as the destination device at 208. Then the new data may betransferred to the primary device at 210 if the primary device hassufficient free storage space.

It may be appreciated that FIG. 2 provide only an illustration of oneembodiment and does not imply any limitations with regard to howdifferent embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to thedepicted embodiment(s) may be made based on design and implementationrequirements. According to at least one other embodiment, the user mayassign permissions to the data that may be distributed within the memorycloud. An interface for an application may provide options to the userto select, for instance, that data has a family permission (that thedata may be available to anyone in the house) or personal permission(that the data would not be available/visible to anyone other than theuser). Thus the user may allow data to be spread to the memory cloudwithout making it available to all users. For example, an application onthe user's smartphone primary device (e.g., an application thatinterfaces with the automatic memory cloud program 110 a and 110 b (FIG.1)) may provide a graphical user interface that allows a user to selectdata that would be distributed within the memory cloud and select apermission level to be associated with the data. For example, a user mayhave a recipe for a birthday meal that the user wishes to keep secretvia permissions in order to not spoil the surprise to others by allowingother people to see the recipe before the meal has been prepared.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram 900 of internal and external components ofcomputers depicted in FIG. 1 in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention. It should be appreciated that FIG.3 provides only an illustration of one implementation and does not implyany limitations with regard to the environments in which differentembodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depictedenvironments may be made based on design and implementationrequirements.

Data processing system 902, 904 is representative of any electronicdevice capable of executing machine-readable program instructions. Dataprocessing system 902, 904 may be representative of a smart phone, acomputer system, PDA, or other electronic devices. Examples of computingsystems, environments, and/or configurations that may represented bydata processing system 902, 904 include, but are not limited to,personal computer systems, server computer systems, thin clients, thickclients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based systems, network PCs, minicomputer systems, anddistributed cloud computing environments that include any of the abovesystems or devices.

User client computer 102 (FIG. 1), and network server 112 (FIG. 1) mayinclude respective sets of internal components 902 a, b and externalcomponents 904 a, b illustrated in FIG. 3. Each of the sets of internalcomponents 902 a, b includes one or more processors 906, one or morecomputer-readable RAMs 908 and one or more computer-readable ROMs 910 onone or more buses 912, and one or more operating systems 914 and one ormore computer-readable tangible storage devices 916. The one or moreoperating systems 914 and the software program 108 (FIG. 1) and theautomatic memory cloud program 110 a (FIG. 1) in client computer 102(FIG. 1) and the automatic memory cloud program 110 b (FIG. 1) innetwork server 112 (FIG. 1), may be stored on one or morecomputer-readable tangible storage devices 916 for execution by one ormore processors 906 via one or more RAMs 908 (which typically includecache memory). In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, each of thecomputer-readable tangible storage devices 916 is a magnetic diskstorage device of an internal hard drive. Alternatively, each of thecomputer-readable tangible storage devices 916 is a semiconductorstorage device such as ROM 910, EPROM, flash memory or any othercomputer-readable tangible storage device that can store a computerprogram and digital information.

Each set of internal components 902 a, b also includes a R/W drive orinterface 918 to read from and write to one or more portablecomputer-readable tangible storage devices 920 such as a CD-ROM, DVD,memory stick, magnetic tape, magnetic disk, optical disk orsemiconductor storage device. A software program, such as the softwareprogram 108 (FIG. 1) and the automatic memory cloud program 110 a and110 b (FIG. 1) can be stored on one or more of the respective portablecomputer-readable tangible storage devices 920, read via the respectiveR/W drive or interface 918 and loaded into the respective hard drive916.

Each set of internal components 902 a, b may also include networkadapters (or switch port cards) or interfaces 922 such as a TCP/IPadapter cards, wireless wifi interface cards, or 3G or 4G wirelessinterface cards or other wired or wireless communication links. Thesoftware program 108 (FIG. 1) and the automatic memory cloud program 110a (FIG. 1) in client computer 102 (FIG. 1) and the automatic memorycloud program 110 b (FIG. 1) in network server computer 112 (FIG. 1) canbe downloaded from an external computer (e.g., server) via a network(for example, the Internet, a local area network or other, wide areanetwork) and respective network adapters or interfaces 922. From thenetwork adapters (or switch port adaptors) or interfaces 922, thesoftware program 108 (FIG. 1) and the automatic memory cloud program 110a (FIG. 1) in client computer 102 (FIG. 1) and the automatic memorycloud program 110 b (FIG. 1) in network server computer 112 (FIG. 1) areloaded into the respective hard drive 916. The network may comprisecopper wires, optical fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls,switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers.

Each of the sets of external components 904 a, b can include a computerdisplay monitor 924, a keyboard 926, and a computer mouse 928. Externalcomponents 904 a, b can also include touch screens, virtual keyboards,touch pads, pointing devices, and other human interface devices. Each ofthe sets of internal components 902 a, b also includes device drivers930 to interface to computer display monitor 924, keyboard 926, andcomputer mouse 928. The device drivers 930, R/W drive or interface 918,and network adapter or interface 922 comprise hardware and software(stored in storage device 916 and/or ROM 910).

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 4, illustrative cloud computing environment 1000is depicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 1000 comprises one ormore cloud computing nodes 100 with which local computing devices usedby cloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant(PDA) or cellular telephone 1000A, desktop computer 1000B, laptopcomputer 1000C, and/or automobile computer system 1000N may communicate.Nodes 100 may communicate with one another. They may be grouped (notshown) physically or virtually, in one or more networks, such asPrivate, Community, Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove,or a combination thereof. This allows cloud computing environment 1000to offer infrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for whicha cloud consumer does not need to maintain resources on a localcomputing device. It is understood that the types of computing devices1000A-N shown in FIG. 4 are intended to be illustrative only and thatcomputing nodes 100 and cloud computing environment 1000 can communicatewith any type of computerized device over any type of network and/ornetwork addressable connection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 5, a set of functional abstraction layers 1100provided by cloud computing environment 1000 (FIG. 4) is shown. Itshould be understood in advance that the components, layers, andfunctions shown in FIG. 5 are intended to be illustrative only andembodiments of the invention are not limited thereto. As depicted, thefollowing layers and corresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes 61; RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 62;servers 63; blade servers 64; storage devices 65; and networks andnetworking components 66. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 67 and database software 68.

Virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers71; virtual storage 72; virtual networks 73, including virtual privatenetworks; virtual applications and operating systems 74; and virtualclients 75.

In one example, management layer 80 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning 81 provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 82provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 84provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 85 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 91; software development and lifecycle management 92; virtualclassroom education delivery 93; data analytics processing 94;transaction processing 95; and automatic memory cloud 96. An automaticmemory cloud program 110 a, 110 b (FIG. 1) provides a way toautomatically move data within a local cloud between connected devicesto more efficiently utilize collective storage capacity and move data todevices better suited for the specific type of data.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for an automatic memory cloud, themethod comprising: detecting a trigger event; activating the automaticmemory cloud based on detecting the trigger event; determining if newdata is found on a primary device connected to the activated automaticmemory cloud, wherein the new data has a data type and a data size;selecting a destination device from within a plurality of secondarydevices connected to the activated automatic memory cloud based ondetermining that the new data is found on the primary device, whereinthe selected destination device has i) an available storage exceedingthe data size and ii) a usage type associated with the selecteddestination device matches the data type associated with the new data;and sending an instruction to transfer the new data from the primarydevice to the selected destination device.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising: determining the plurality of secondary devicesconnected to the automatic memory cloud; determining the usage type ofeach secondary device within the determined plurality of secondarydevices; and determining the available storage of each secondary devicewithin the determined plurality of secondary devices.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: receiving a plurality of user preferencesfrom a user, wherein the plurality of user preferences includes at leastone of a primary device indicator corresponding to the primary device, aplurality of secondary device indicators corresponding to the pluralityof secondary devices, and the usage type of each secondary device withinthe plurality of secondary devices.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinthe trigger event comprises at least one of detecting the primary deviceis within a designated geographic region and an available storage valueassociated with the primary device being less than a predeterminedthreshold value.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the triggerevent comprises determining that the primary device caused the triggerevent.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: generating a logentry associated with a log on the primary device, wherein the log entryincludes a destination device indicator corresponding to the destinationdevice and a timestamp indicating when the new data was transferred tothe destination device.
 7. The method of claim 2, wherein determiningthe usage type of each secondary device within the determined pluralityof secondary devices comprises at least one of a user-provided usage tagcorresponding to each secondary device within the determined pluralityof secondary devices, and analyzing a plurality of historical usage datacorresponding to each secondary device within the determined pluralityof secondary devices.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein sending theinstruction to transfer the new data from the primary device to thedestination device comprises the primary device sending a copy of thenew data to the destination device through the automatic memory cloudand the primary device deleting the new data from the primary device.